GazaHerald – The Prisoners’ Media Office revealed on Monday the harrowing ordeal of Palestinian physician Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who has been held under catastrophic conditions in Israel’s Ofer Prison since his abduction from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza last December.
During a rare field visit, lawyer Ghaid Qassem reported that Dr. Abu Safiya and his nephew, Hussam Zaher, are detained in inhumane conditions, deprived of medical care, food, and the most basic sanitary needs. The two detainees are exposed to sunlight for only 30 minutes per month, suffer from scabies and severe skin infections, and have been forced to wear the same clothing since their arrest. Their bathing time is restricted to just two minutes, and both have lost nearly a third of their body weight.
Qassem stressed that Dr. Abu Safiya’s health is rapidly deteriorating, citing an irregular heartbeat and the urgent need for specialist treatment that the prison administration continues to deny. “Dr. Hussam is still wearing his winter clothes amidst conditions of starvation, torture, isolation, and death,” she said. “He and all Palestinian prisoners are not well.”
Despite his ordeal, Dr. Abu Safiya managed to send a message through his lawyer: “I entered in the name of humanity, and I will leave in the name of humanity. I was abducted from inside the hospital. We will remain on our land and continue to provide healthcare services to the people, God willing, even from a tent.”
Systematic Abuse and Targeted Arrest
This suffering is not new. On June 24, heavily armed Israeli guards stormed his cell in Ofer Prison, beating him continuously for 30 minutes, mainly targeting his head. The assault left lasting damage and further accelerated the deterioration of his health.
By July 9, when Qassem was able to visit again, his weight had dropped from 100 kilograms at the time of his arrest to only 60. She warned that the denial of proper medical care, including cardiological tests, placed his life at risk.
Dr. Abu Safiya’s arrest took place on December 27, 2024, when Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last functioning medical facility in northern Gaza at the time. Soldiers stormed the hospital, detaining its director, Abu Safiya, along with other medical staff and even patients.
His case reflects a broader pattern. During Israel’s military campaign and its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Israeli forces have arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers without charges or trial. Many have been subjected to torture, incommunicado detention, and conditions amounting to enforced disappearance.
Dr. Abu Safiya, like many of his colleagues, was arrested in the line of duty while treating patients. On January 9, the Israeli Magistrate’s Court in Ashkelon extended his detention without charge under the Unlawful Combatants Law until February 13, while also prolonging a ban on him meeting his lawyer until January 22. His whereabouts were withheld, but Palestinians recently released from the notorious Sde Teiman detention center reported having seen him there.
These attacks are part of Israel’s systematic assault on Gaza’s healthcare system. The UN Human Rights Office has documented at least 136 strikes on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, killing and injuring doctors, nurses, and civilians.
The deliberate destruction of healthcare infrastructure, alongside the targeting of medical workers, forms part of Israel’s calculated policy to impose conditions of life intended to bring about the destruction of the Palestinian people, in violation of the Genocide Convention.
